Who Do You Ask For Advice?

Hey gang,

Wanna get into a little something that might offend a few of you. Hope not, but if so, then oh well.

When you were a kid, and you needed advice, you likely went to your folks (your dad if you're a dude, and your mom if you're a girl). Or maybe you went to an older brother or sister. Or maybe even a good friend.

Whoever it was, you went to that person for one reason - not b/c you could count on them to listen, or b/c they wouldn't make fun of you, or b/c they were supportive. None of that B.S. Sure, all that stuff is great and all, but you went to who you did for one main reason:

To get an answer.

If somebody couldn't provide an answer...well...they ain't gonna do you a whole lotta good, now, are they?

Same goes for your training.

Yesterday, I answered an email from a customer who got my workout programs. In his email, he mentioned that he had done a bodybuilding type of program for a long time, even though his Muay Thai (kickboxing) coach had advised him to drop the weights and just do pushups and pullups for a number of years.

I told him that while a complete bodybuilding program wasn't ideal for what he was trying to do, that bodybuilding was *all* bad, either. The program has to be put together the right way. But that's a whole other topic.

The thing I mentioned to him, though, was that though his Muay Thai coach is one of the best in the country, his advice on a workout program wasn't exactly 'spot on' (as Gordon Ramsay might say).

The coach was right to say that a dedicated bodybuilding program wouldn't be correct, but to say that the trainee shouldn't lift weights at all was not only thinking that is fairly old an antiquated...it's just plain wrong. I could give you example after example of athletes - including fighters - who lift weights, and it makes them all that much better.

Sometimes it can seem a little strange - not taking advice from somebody that you trust. But if that person doesn't have the knowledge, then as well-meaning as that advice is, it's still not gonna do you any good.

Think of it like this - how many of you have taken a high school weight training type of class? More often than not, at least one of the teachers or coaches for one of these classes was probably a football coach, right?

Then lemme ask you something - did that football coach know how to put together a good workout? More than likely, the answer is...
Listen, just b/c the guy is a good football coach, doesn't mean he knows jack about putting together workouts...regardless of what most football coaches think they know.

So, if you need workout advice, then it makes sense to go to an authority, coach, trainer, etc...or at least somebody with some damn experience.

They say you can't get the right answers if you don't ask the right questions. Well, your answers will suck even more if you ask the wrong person.

Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard-
Matt "Wiggy" Wiggins
http://www.workingclassfitness.com